Patrick Secker (Barker, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have to say that I found the last speech quite fascinating. The honourable member for Capricornia might claim to represent the cattle country of Australia, and that might very well be so, but her speech reminded me a lot of the analogy of those big longhorn bulls that you see in those Western Texan movies: there was a point here and a point there and a lot of bull in between. I will come to those matters as I go through my speech. The honourable member for Capricornia referred to 457 visas. I think there is a very serious issue as to how the Labor Party is treating that subject.

I rise in the House today to speak on the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Legislation Amendment (2007 Measures No. 1) Bill 2007. This bill is important not only to me but also to the constituents of my electorate of Barker as it is home to four quite substantial abattoirs. Two of these abattoirs uphold the coveted A-plus category of accreditation that only one other holds in South Australia. These two abattoirs, T&R Pastoral, located in Murray Bridge, and Teys Bros, in Naracoorte, are both export abattoirs. Tatiara Meat, who are located in Bordertown and form part of Tatiara Lamb, are Australia’s largest lamb exporters. Of course, we have in Murray Bridge Big River Pork, which I believe has the largest pork processing factory in Australia.

Abattoirs are not only an important part of the export industry; they also provide local jobs for the constituents of Barker. For example, Teys Bros in Naracoorte alone employs 300 people and is a viable and secure operation. It employs these 300 people at above-award rates. In fact, its employees  receive hundreds of dollars per week extra—and guess what? They are on AWAs. This is a very good example of how AWAs work in this industry for the benefit of the constituents of my electorate. T&R Pastoral employs, quite successfully, over a thousand employees in Murray Bridge. I can remember eight years ago when the abattoir company was going through the hoops, was cutting staff members and was certainly not prospering. But the T&R Pastoral company have come in and really grown the business. One of the problems they have actually found is that they cannot find enough locals to work there. They have gone from a workforce of about 400 to one of well over a thousand. It is no wonder that, after advertising for staff—and being prepared to upskill people and train new people—for that abattoir without the results, they had to resort to 457 visas. It would have been a lot cheaper and a lot easier for them to have used local people if they could have got them.

It was the Labor Party who used these two abattoirs: they disgracefully attacked these two abattoirs over their use of 457 visas to fill a labour shortage. With a wink, wink and a nudge, nudge, they referred to these Chinese 457 visa holders with a disgraceful racist undertone.

It was actually the Labor state government that identified the shortage. It was the Labor state government that supported the use of 457 visas. It was the Labor state government that signed off—they have to sign off these—the 457 visas. So the member for Capricornia either does not understand the issues facing the meat industry in getting employees or is playing pure cheap politics on this matter.

I very well remember the Mudginberri abattoir issue in the Northern Territory whereby the union movement and the Hawke Labor government tried to stop its employees earning 2½ times what the award rate was. The abattoir used to be on a tally system, the union system which was not efficient and did not provide productivity. While the Labor Party is very good at talking about productivity and the fact that we have got to increase it, which I agree with, they do not take the actual measures to increase productivity. Back then they were quite prepared to stick with the old tally system so that when employees got their numbers up by one o’clock in the afternoon they could knock off and go home. As a result, we had a very inefficient meat industry in Australia.

The abattoir systems all around Australia were going broke. It was not until we took away that antiquated system, that union system, that Labor system, that we actually got productivity back. That is a perfect example of how the government’s measures work. AWAs work very effectively in the meat industry. Employees are paid much more than the award rate. Why wouldn’t we be happy with that? But the Labor Party want to take away AWAs. They want to rip them up, they want to ruin the beef industry, the sheep industry and the pork industry, along with the manufacturing industry for those three meat industries and go back to the old way. Here is a perfect example of the folly of the Labor Party idea to rip up AWAs.

The meat processing industry is a valuable part of Australia’s beef, sheepmeat and goat meat trade. Of the four abattoirs in my electorate, two of them slaughter all three species of cattle, sheep and goats. Australia wide, the industry employs approximately 25,000 people. It has an annual turnover of around $15 billion and earns $7 billion in exports. Within my electorate the two A-plus accredited abattoirs process 1,200 cattle and 8,000 sheep and lambs per day. The meat processing industry has the capacity to add value to Australia’s economy. This amendment bill will ensure that a legislative framework is in place to allow it to change its structural and funding arrangements for delivering marketing and research and development services. Australia’s economy can be further strengthened by the collective funding of meat processor marketing and R&D services.

The Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry Legislation Amendment (2007 Measures No. 1) Bill 2007 was put in place to amend the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997. The amendment bill was introduced to create greater flexibility for the disbursement of funds which are derived from the collection of compulsory levies and charges on the slaughter of cattle, sheep and goats.

In 1997-98 the red meat industry restructure enabled the meat processor industry to fund its marketing and R&D services through a voluntary contributions system. The system, however, made way for free riders, who refused to contribute. So the industry made it clear that, after 30 June 2007, members would no longer participate in the voluntary system. These free riders were able to reap the benefits of collectively funded R&D, whilst operating with a commercial advantage. Until recently, these free riders represented only a small percentage but a significant part of the industry.

During industry discussions regarding the voluntary contributions system—a three-year agreement—a number of large processors indicated that their ongoing support was conditional on the free riders commencing to pay their share of the contributions. If the larger meat processors decided to opt out of the system, the funding would not be sufficient to meet the sector’s whole-of-industry commitments under the red meat industry memorandum of understanding.

In December 2006 a ballot was conducted by the Australian Electoral Commission on the future of funding arrangements. It resulted in 73 per cent in favour of moving to a statutory levy system. The vote was also in favour of the funding being directed to the industry’s existing service provider, Australian Meat Processor Corporation. The new levy rate would be recommended by the industry’s peak body, the Australian Meat Industry Council. The government agreed on making the funding changes through an amending bill. The government believes that collectively funded marketing and R&D programs are the key to continued industry growth and productivity. Consequently, the government supports the move to a statutory levy and has no objection to AMPC receiving and administering the funds.

The government’s agreed amendments would allow the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry to determine a meat processor industry to receive revenue obtained by the Commonwealth from compulsory levies. These levies would be imposed on the red meat industry by the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999. The amendments also include the capacity for the minister to declare that a body be recognised as the meat processor marketing body and/or the meat processor research body. Controls over who receives disaggregated levy payer information held by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry are also in the government’s amendments. Existing legislation does not allow for such information to be passed to the red meat industry. These new conditions are based on those which exist for the dairy industry and have been quite successful.

Key existing elements of the bill include the current arrangements that were established under the 1997-98 restructure to accommodate the red meat industry’s desire to be viewed as one industry. However, provisions were made to accommodate other sectors within the industry to have some self-determination. This arrangement will allow for some sectors to choose to be funded through the voluntary contributions system; otherwise, levies would apply under a statutory scheme and would have their operating rates set at zero and no revenue would be collected against those levies. The proposed arrangement supports the meat processor sector’s collective marketing and R&D activities to now be funded by compulsory levies. This would result in the funds raised by the compulsory levies being channelled into the existing services body, the Australian Meat Processor Corporation Ltd. The existing legislative arrangements see the funds channelled into Meat & Livestock Australia, which then carry out agreed marketing and R&D projects as required under the red meat industry’s memorandum of understanding. The current arrangements provide for the minister to activate the statutory levy provision in the event of a sector failing to meet their whole-of-industry obligations from voluntary contributions. So either way they are covered.

Under the proposed arrangements, the statutory based levies and charges would be paid into the consolidated revenue fund and then approved for payment to a declared marketing body and declared research body. Current arrangements only allow the minister to declare one industry marketing body and one industry research body, which is Meat & Livestock Australia, and one livestock export marketing body and one livestock export industry body, which is the Australian Livestock Export Corporation Ltd.

Activation of these proposed compulsory levies provisions on the slaughter of cattle, sheep and goats without amendment to the existing bill would result in all funds being directed to Meat and Livestock Australia rather than the Australian Meat Processor Corporation, which is contrary to industry preference. That is the reason why these changes are being made.

In conclusion, this amendment bill provides better arrangements for an industry that is part of most Australians’ daily lifestyle. I am lucky enough to have abattoirs in my electorate that are amongst the country’s largest and best. I appreciate firsthand this incredible industry. I commend this amendment bill that seeks to protect the meat processor industry’s funding arrangements for marketing, research and development services.

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